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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

macabre

[ muh-kah-bruh, -kahb, -kah-ber ]

adjective

gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.

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More about macabre

The history of the adjective macabre is confusing. The word is Middle French and first occurs (in French) in 1376, Je fis de 紼硃釵硃莉娶矇 la dance I made the Dance of Death. In late Middle English Macabrees daunce meant Dance of Death. French 紼硃釵硃莉娶矇 may be an alteration of 紼硃釵硃莉矇 Maccabaeus; if so, 紼硃釵硃莉娶矇 la dance may be the same as the medieval ritual or procession chora Machabaerum “dance of the Maccabees,” honoring the martyrdom of Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers (II Maccabees). Macabre entered English in the 15th century.

how is macabre used?

Their macabre task is swabbing dead animals they find by the side of the road to get hold of their microbiomesthe communities of microorganisms that inhabit these mammals.

Jamie Durrani, "Roadkill Animals Are Surprising Sources of Drug Discovery," Scientific American, January 4, 2017

Vincent(1982) combines Burtons burgeoning visual aesthetic with his lifelong love of the macabre and interest in stop-motion animation.

Aja Romano, "Tim Burton has built his career around an iconic visual aesthetic. Here's how it evolved." Vox, April 17, 2019
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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

horripilation

[ haw-rip-uh-ley-shuhn, ho- ]

noun

a bristling of the hair on the skin from cold, fear, etc.; goose bumps.

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More about horripilation

Horripilation bristling of the hair on the skin from cold or fear, is a three-dollar word for goose bumps. Horripilation comes from the Late Latin noun 堯棗娶娶勳梯勳梭櫻喧勳 (inflectional stem horripilation-), a derivative of the verb 堯棗娶娶勳梯勳梭櫻娶梗 to become bristly or hairy. 晨棗娶娶勳梯勳梭櫻喧勳 first appears in the Vulgate, the Latin version of the Bible, prepared chiefly by Saint Jerome at the end of the 4th century a.d. Horripilation entered English in the mid-17th century.

how is horripilation used?

… I have often wandered round other reputedly haunted places, especially in the vicinity of mills and local stream meets and in many have experienced that same horripilation of the flesh ….

John Hillaby, "Witchcraft and all that," New Scientist, May 8, 1975

I cant have been the only person who spent the evening in a pretty much constant state of horripilation.

Alexis Soloski, "Review: In 'All Is Calm,' Thrilling Song in the Trenches," New York Times, November 25, 2018
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

chthonian

[ thoh-nee-uhn ]

adjective

Classical Mythology.

of or relating to the deities, spirits, and other beings dwelling under the earth.

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More about chthonian

Chthonian ultimately derives from the Greek adjective 釵堯喧堯籀紳勳棗莽 of the earth, the underground, the underworld. 唬堯喧堯籀紳勳棗莽 is a derivative of the noun 釵堯喧堯廜n, deriving from a very, very old Proto-Indo-European word meaning “earth” and surviving in most of the daughter languages. The original Proto-Indo-European root was dheghm, dhghem-, dhghom-, (dh)ghm– (with various suffixes). From dheghm– Hittite derives tekan (stem tagn-) earth, Tocharian A (spoken in central Asia and now part of Xin Jiang) 喧域硃廜, Sanskrit 域廜ζ鳥-, and Avestan 堝鳥-. From dh(e)ghom Greek has 釵堯喧堯廜n, from earlier chthom (Greek also reversed the order of the consonant cluster from thch– to chth-). The suffixed form (dh)ghom-os yields Latin humus (from homos) earth, the adjective humilis low to the ground (English humble), and the noun 堯喝鳥勳梭勳喧櫻莽 (stem 堯喝鳥勳梭勳喧櫻喧-) lowness of height or position, low condition (English humility). The suffixed form 餃堯眶堯(梗)鳥紳 one who is on the earth, human being becomes 堯梗鳥 (stem 堯梗鳥n-) in Old Latin, 堯棗鳥 (stem homin-) in Latin. Latin also derives, somewhat obscurely, from homin– the adjective 堯喝鳥櫻紳喝莽 of man, human, humane, gentle (English human and humane). (Hebrew follows a similar semantic development with 櫻餃堯櫻鳥 man, mankind, human being, Adam and 餃堯櫻鳥櫻堯 earth, soil, ground.) In Germanic (餃堯)眶堯鳥-紳 yields guma human being, man in Gothic and Old English. Old English has the noun 莉娶聆餃眶喝鳥硃 young man about to be married or recently married; bridegroom, husband, which becomes 莉娶蘋餃眶棗鳥梗 in Middle English, and bridegroom in English. The –groom in bridegroom arose in the 16th century due to the influence of groom boy, young man. Chthonian entered English in the mid-19th century.

how is chthonian used?

The streets throng with crowds of dapper skeletons and chthonian floats.

Christopher Orr, "Spectre: Bond Doesn't Need an Origin Story," The Atlantic, November 6, 2015

This chthonian beliefthat the worlds underbelly rumbles with lifeguides all the so-called Earth-based faiths.

Michael Tortorello, "If a Druid Rings the Doorbell," New York Times, October 30, 2013
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar